the Ladies Board of the Asylum. Mrs. Leath, a wealthy Memphis woman and member of First Presbyterian Church, had shown concern for the plight of orphans in the community. Herself a widow and mother of two sons of her own, Mrs. Leath had on three occasions taken orphans into her home. By 1854, the little Orphanage had outgrown its crowded downtown quarters. Wishing to provide the Asylum with a larger facility and a permanent location, Sarah Leath donated of land one mile (1.6 km) northeast of the City north of New Raleigh Road (later renamed Jackson Avenue) and east of Boundary Road (later renamed Manassas Street). Money for the original small brick building was provided largely by public subscription from the citizenry. A two-story brick building (now the Shainberg Room) was completed on June 4, 1856, and became home to fourteen children; seven boys and seven girls. There was also a clapboard shotgun-styled building on the plot that was used as the school for the children. Leath Orphan Asylum Upon Mrs. Leath's death in 1858, her Estate provided the orphanage with twenty additional acres of land and money to start an Orphan's Educational Fund. In honor and recognition of Mrs. Leath's contributions to the welfare of the Asylum, the name of the organization was changed from the Protestant Widows' and Orphans' Asylum to the Leath Orphan Asylum by an Act of the 1857 and 1858 Tennessee Legislature. In addition to the Asylum's new name, a new organizational structure was adopted. A board of trustees made up of seven prominent men was appointed, but the day-to-day supervision of the Home remained with the twelve-member "Board of Lady Managers". These ladies of Memphis' Protestant churches paid the salary of the Asylum's matron. Jane Ward –Matron of Leath Orphan Asylum Because of her significant gift to the Orphanage and her active role as a member of the Ladies Board (forerunner of the Board of Lady Managers), Mrs. Leath was permitted to choose the Asylum's new matron in 1856. The choice proved a wise one. Miss Jane Ward had come to Memphis as governess for the children of the pastor of First Presbyterian Church and after visiting in the home of James T. Leath, the son of Sarah Murphy Leath, for an extended time, was offered and accepted the position of the first matron of the Orphanage. Miss Ward, who manifested a real mother's